Christian Faith: Faith to Walk on Water - Part 3

Christian Faith 5: Moving a mountain into the sea (Mark 11:12-14, 20-25)

The next day, after Jesus and His twelve disciples left Bethany, Jesus felt hungry. And from afar He saw a fig tree in leaf. He went to see whether perhaps He could find anything on it. But when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. Then He said to the tree: "May no one ever eat fruit from you again!" And His disciples heard it.

Early in the morning, when Jesus and His disciples passed by, they saw that the fig tree had withered from the roots up. Then Peter remembered what had happened and said to Jesus: "Rabbi, look, the fig tree You cursed has withered."

Jesus answered them: "Have faith in God! Truly I tell you, whoever says to this mountain: Be taken up and thrown into the sea! and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be given to you. And when you stand praying, first forgive if you hold anything in your heart against anyone, so that your Father in heaven may also forgive your trespasses."

Rearranging the physical landscape, is that what Jesus meant? Was that His purpose?

A question for you in this section: What will you do with Jesus' promise in verses 22 and 23? If you view it as a literal promise about the physical world, then this could mean Jesus was lying, or no one has enough faith in God, or everyone is filled with doubt.

God's promise through Jesus

I know the Lord Jesus has the power that is meant here. He has unlimited authority over everything in the world. Yet He alone is able. One reason why only Jesus can do this is found in God's promise in 1 Corinthians 10:13.

“The temptations you experience are only common to humanity. But God is faithful, and because of that He will not let you be tempted beyond your strength. When you are tempted, He will also provide a way out, so that you can endure it.”

The power to make God act and fulfill our every prayer request would create a kind of temptation that would ruin every person except Jesus. As a result, we would use that power for selfish, petty, worldly things that do not please God. The outcome would be even more evil.

God gave Jesus all authority and power because only He is able to handle such great power and authority, day after day, forever, without being corrupted or led astray by it.

My personal understanding of the verses in Mark 11 is that the Lord Jesus used a picture from the physical world to help us understand how great the power and influence of faith-filled prayers, and our choices of faith, are in the spiritual realm and in Heaven. In that unseen realm, Christian prayers and choices of faith have extraordinary influence. They can rearrange the spiritual landscape with an impact as obvious and astonishing as when a great mountain is thrown into the sea.

Every time someone who is lost is saved, it feels like an earthquake in that realm. Some parts of Heaven that are most important to the Triune God also change. One more soul is added in obedient faith, allowing Jesus' sacrifice to remove all sin and build a new relationship as a child in God's family. As we become more like Christ, our spiritual landscape will keep growing, accurately reflecting what is happening in our soul.

To answer the questions above:

I find that the verses above and the ideas I have just shared are convincing evidence about Christian faith, that the Lord's promise in Mark 11 cannot be applied to influence the physical realm in the present time.

The reasons are:

1. No one has a heart pure enough to handle that much power.
2. Jesus is the only One who has authority over all creation in the world to bring about something so great.
3. The Triune God cares more about what is eternal than what is temporary. They want us to live a life of faith that has an effect on that eternity.
4. The power They give us is truly amazing and extraordinary. Their confidence in us is astonishing and comforting. The most important difference, the true difference, happens precisely when we cannot see it happening.

That is why we also need faith, not only obedience. Obedience without faith will not produce a positive impact in Heaven (Galatians 3).

Thank you for reading this article, and for reflecting and praying about what we have discussed. I am sure the Lord is willing to help anyone who wants to grow the faith to “walk on water.” With a better understanding of Christian faith, you can now seek the Lord and let Him use your faith to do great things.

Adapted from the writing "The Faith that Walks on Water" by Bill Peach

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